We have now come to the end of the first set of workbooks for the ten month Yamaha Music Canada School piano program at the Tom Lee Music Learning Centre. After the holiday break we will be moving on to new material and focusing much more on using both hands to play pieces simultaneously. Playing with the left hand (lower octaves) was only introduced in the latter part of the term so it is still quite new for many of the kids and will take some time to become as natural as the right hand.

My son is left handed so for him it is a relief to finally be working with his more dominant hand.

I was able to get some important questions answered by our instructor with regards to ideal ways to work with our kids within the classroom. For example if your child is struggling with fingering it is best to simply play the parts alongside of them (an octave or two away) than using your fingers to push or guide their fingers to the correct keys. Our teacher stressed that the most important skills at this point are for the children to be listening and singing along and as long as they are at least attempting to press the correct keys (even if it is struggle) they will eventually start making a better connection. At home we have been trying to focus more on singing along to every note played as it definitely seems to help guide oneself to the correct fingerings.

Piano classes have really been a great way to practice focusing my son’s attention and they are helping make him a better listener as he is learning to follow directions.

This next term will be a challenge but I am looking forward to seeing the progress and it will be interesting to see how quickly the kids adapt.

Yamaha Education Growth Initiative

The Yamaha Education Growth Initiative (EGI) is a rebate that works as a credit towards music lessons with the Yamaha Music Education System When you purchase a new Yamaha product from now until February 28, 2015, you qualify for a lesson tuition credit towards the Yamaha Music Education System group lessons. For example, if you were to buy a brand new Yamaha Grand Piano, you would get $500 to put towards group lessons with the Yamaha Music Education System.

There are a variety of instruments that apply, including drums, guitars, brass and wodwinds, each with their own level of rebate. I love how they are helping make lessons attainable for more families! Find more details and their full brochure HERE.

Disclosure – I am participating in the Yamaha Music Canada Brand Ambassador program on behalf with Mom Central Canada. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion. The opinions on this blog are my own.